Travis Marston does not currently hold an Oregon State Bar license. Kara has varied work experience as the current DA for Gilliam County, as a public defender, and as an attorney in private practice. Kara has prior governmental experience, which is integral for the DA position. She has a proven track record of litigating difficult criminal cases such as sex offenses, Measure 11 crimes, and other high-level criminal cases. The DA must be able to charge, and litigate, the worst crimes committed in the county; these skills come from courtroom experience and practice.

“I write to thank you and your staff, especially Cole Goodwin, for the work your publication does in our community. CCCNews does more than just tell our communities stories, they help local organizations engage the community to find solutions to problems.”

When comparing the Democratic and Republican party platforms I read, on the RNC website, “The RNC enthusiastically supports President Trump…” and “Resolved, That the Republican party has and will continue to enthusiastically support the President's America-first agenda.”

The facts are that most often people experience homelessness when all other options have been exhausted, or they are dealing with difficult circumstances that make it hard to retain housing. One of these is drug addiction – which is a disease. The most widely abused drugs are tobacco products and alcohol, which are legal and kill far more people and cost society much more than opiates and other illicit drugs.

Many of our houseless neighbors suffer from ill-addressed mental health conditions and deserve compassion and to not die alone, outside when the temperature drops. Our community should be proud that collectively we were providing critically needed low-barrier shelter, if only temporarily.

It is disheartening to see a “new” political action committee (“PAC”) concerned with crime called Save Wasco County advocate for Mr. Ellis’ removal especially when one of them wore a shirt stating, “Black Guns Matter.” I speculate that these people have limited to no experience dealing with the criminal justice system.